Armored Cavalry, survive in a world full of mods

"Perhaps I should correct you, Mr. Carinos... While this is a bad thing for us, it's not a disaster. The only one who will truly suffer because of this is your master."

Taloris slowly straightened up. This man's physique was not as slender as that of a typical Holstein; instead, he possessed a certain strength...

"What your master has done is despicable in any country or tribe. If General Tersolius can return, it will be your master who suffers eternal damnation..."

"Don't forget you were accomplices too!"

Karinos roared angrily.

…………

The military commander's face remained expressionless.

"Of course we are your master's accomplices, but you must understand one thing... We are hostile to the Empire, and General Tersolius was originally our enemy... Are you going to accuse us of using trickery against the enemy?..."

"When the news reaches the Empire, your master will be despised by the entire nation, and we Hols will only be a tiny corner of that despising... We will never be the focus, do you understand?"

Taloris turned around and returned to the map, his slender fingers slowly moving along the two mountain ranges until they reached the point where they met in the middle...

“If you still have any loyalty to your master, then you should do everything you can to help us and pray that this general does not return to the empire. Otherwise, we can bear this loss, but you absolutely cannot.”

He slowly raised his head, his expression somber:

"If you understand, then tell us everything you need about him..."

........................

Hols's cavalry would occasionally loiter around the city walls, and no one knew what they were looking for... but this was a golden opportunity that Tersolius was not about to let slip by.

So, at his command, the slaves began to take up crossbows and fire at the attacking cavalry from behind the battlements...

The lord's armory contained thousands of powerful crossbows, all deadly weapons that required the strength of the waist to draw. A hit from one would often send a Holstein cavalryman tumbling from his horse.

The chainmail of ordinary cavalrymen was no match for the crossbow bolts. Although the slaves were novices, crossbows were easy to master. After a few days of training, an ordinary person could hit a target within 30 paces.

As casualties increased, the cavalrymen became more cautious and no longer approached the city walls recklessly.

To conserve arrows, the slaves were also ordered not to fire rashly when the enemy was too far away, and the two sides fell into this stalemate again.

But this situation was destined not to last long, and Tersorius knew very well that these Hols didn't have much time left...

Once the imperial reinforcements arrive in the city, relying on its fortified position, they will have no hope of retaking it. Their only chance is to capture the city before the reinforcements arrive; there is no other way...

The Hols arrived far too suddenly, and they did not have any siege equipment readily available. To capture a fortified city, they would need the assistance of siege equipment, otherwise the casualties would be extremely heavy.

It was destined to be a long process for the military craftsmen to cut down the large trees from the valley, split them into usable timber, and then make them into engineering machinery.

Moreover, engineering equipment produced in this way is destined to be unusable and can only be used to address immediate needs. It is often completely destroyed after the war ends, and it will have to be rebuilt if needed next time.

Therefore, Tersolius was not in a hurry at all. Time was on his side, and the longer it dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for him and for the empire.

A resounding bugle call echoed from the gradually forming camp, and colorful flags waved overhead. Seeing this, the cavalrymen turned their horses and galloped towards the camp.

The Holsteins' first attempt was met with the answer of more than a dozen corpses beneath the city walls... and several warhorses, now without their masters, were wandering around here.

………………

The setting sun bathed the sky and city walls in orange-red hues. The vigilant slaves never laid down their weapons, and three squads of slaves took turns guarding the highest tower, monitoring the movements of the distant army.

Such a tower would not normally need so many people, but the slaves lacked experience, and they could easily be scaled up by enemy night raiders and have their throats cut without giving any warning.

Therefore, they had to send more people to take charge of the task, which would at least give the cavalry a warning so that they could arrive in time.

Tersolius remained on the city wall. It was his first time defending a city, and to be honest, he was a little unsure of himself. So even as night fell, he did not go back to rest but continued to patrol the city.

Every slave who saw him would respectfully kneel and bow to him... No matter how many masters these slaves had served, they never had any respect for those people.

But when faced with this general, they willingly bowed and saluted him... This was unimaginable to the nobles in the city; slaves were considered uncouth, ignorant, and ungrateful, which was their preconceived notion.

Torches adorned the city walls, illuminating the view below and preventing anyone from sneaking in. The sun had just set, the night was still long, and everyone awaited another dawn…

56. The Siege (3)

A Holstein cavalryman spurred his horse on, attempting to leap directly from the fields beside the city wall onto the road.

His face was filled with panic, he frantically lashed out with his whip, and the spurs on his feet kept piercing the belly of his warhorse.

The Hols horses, with their long, slender limbs and powerful strides, almost moved like the wind, but they ultimately did not leave the field...

Two thick, heavy arrows flew from behind, piercing the Holsman's chest and sending him flying from his horse. Only his warhorse continued galloping forward, leaving its master behind.

A cheer erupted from the city walls, and two mountain men triumphantly raised their longbows to signal to those around them, but they soon began arguing…

Both men believed they should be credited for killing the enemy... They each held their own version of events, accusing the other of shooting an arrow only after they had already hit the enemy.

Just as the two were about to start fighting on the city wall, a short figure rushed over and kicked them both, sending them rolling on the ground.

Then he pounced on them and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, silencing them both.

The final outcome was that both of them received a share...

Both mountain people expressed their heartfelt approval and completely agreed with their leader's decision.

Colin shook the dust off his red military uniform, which was made of fine cotton and was not only absorbent and warm but also looked very imposing.

The surrounding mountain people also wore similar clothes. Some people couldn't bear to part with the animal skins they used to wrap themselves, so they draped them over their clothes, but they still looked very neat and uniform.

This complete outfit includes an inner cloth garment, an outer robe, trousers, leggings, shoes, a headscarf, and insoles... Many mountain people have never dressed so neatly since birth, looking like respectable people.

They then covered themselves with a silver chainmail and wore a helmet, giving them the look of an elite army.

These clothes were made by gathering all the fabric merchants and tailors in the city, and it took a whole week to finish them... Of course, there were no women or children among them, since these were military uniforms.

The two mountain people who got up from the ground hurriedly brushed the dust off their clothes. After all, they had been beaten by their boss quite a few times, but they would be heartbroken if they ruined their nice clothes.

A mountain man lay prone beside the battlements, his eyes fixed on the dead Holstein cavalryman. The gleaming iron helmet and chainmail on the man's body were certainly valuable items...

"Kochkin! You stay right here and don't get any funny ideas, or I'll break your legs."

The girl's rebuke caused the young mountain man to retreat sheepishly, abandoning his bold idea.

The Holsian camp sounded the horn again, but this probing attack was once again a complete failure, and they fled in panic after leaving behind dozens of corpses.

The mountain people standing on the city walls, with their unparalleled archery skills, often brought unexpected surprises to the Hols commanders who appeared at the front lines...

With their commanders being shot one after another, the remaining soldiers naturally became like headless flies. A single volley of arrows would send them scrambling back in a chaotic rout.

Tersolius and his officers were well aware that this probing attack was ultimately aimed at depleting their arrows and other supplies, as the city was already under siege and resources were always limited.

Although everyone knew that the Holsteins were the ones who couldn't afford to lose, it was the only tactic that could be effective for them, at least until siege engines were built.

He didn't need to deal with these probing harassments personally; the slave crossbowmen on the city walls and the mountain people could easily defeat them one by one.

Meanwhile, Tersolius is busy with other matters, something that needs to be resolved as soon as possible...

........................

"Alright, doctor, you can take care of them now. They don't need to master any advanced medical skills; they just need to be able to treat wounds."

Talina looked at Tersolius with a troubled expression, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke:

"My lord, I'm afraid I can't do this job well. I'm just an ordinary doctor; how could I possibly manage other people? That's something only lords do..."

As the two men spoke, they were surrounded by a large group of women... These women were selected from slaves and mountain people, known for their nimble hands and hard work. They were assigned to Talina's team as a medical corps to treat the wounded who would be sent here in the future.

But Tarina seemed very insecure, looking quite hesitant...

But Terzoles wasn't worried at all. Despite the girl's seemingly insecure demeanor, he was certain that no doctor in the city could match her medical skills.

After all, he had personally investigated and found that most doctors in this slave city still only knew how to bleed where it hurt and amputate a leg if it hurt.

Where else can you find someone as knowledgeable about various herbs as this girl? Not only can she treat external injuries, but she also has many treatment methods for various diseases, and she can even deliver babies for pregnant women...

He couldn't possibly entrust the lives of his soldiers to those guys who only knew how to bleed them. To be honest, he might have done their job much better himself, considering how many arms and legs he had already cut off.

Of course, Tersolius had also tried to see if he had any talent in medicine... but the result was...

Medical skill level: 23

Demand Level: 104

The test failed.

Well, it seems he's not particularly good at everything. At least when it comes to medicine, all he can do is wrap wounds with a white cloth... He has a hard time treating slightly larger wounds on his own.

…………

"Doctor, do you think lords are born to rule other people... or do they have this innate talent?"

“I don’t know, sir… but there must be a reason why they were able to become lords.”

"Then let me tell you the reason... The answer is education."

The girl looked puzzled, as if she couldn't understand what the sentence meant.

Thesolius, with a smile on his face, patiently explained to the other party:

"The reason they are able to govern their territory and organize the people in it is because they receive such an education from childhood. They have wise teachers who teach them to read and write and to do what they should do."

“Their parents would teach them by example in their daily lives. With such education, anyone with a normal IQ can take on this task.”

Thesoris suddenly turned around, and the girl almost bumped into him, but he braked at the last moment.

"So I assure you, Doctor, you absolutely have the talent in this area. You single-handedly escaped from the Holstein cavalry's blockade with Caso's wife and children; you have exceptional ability."

“You are a brave and resourceful girl, and kind enough that I can entrust this important task to you and put the lives of my soldiers in your hands…”

Thetholys held his helmet in his arms at his side, the long red plume hanging down to his waist like a captured sunset.

"And if you don't understand, you can ask me..."

He raised his hand and put the helmet on his head. The eye sockets formed by the golden eagle's wings revealed a sharp and bright gaze, and his voice became deep.

"Although I have never been a proper lord, I am very good at managing legions... I should say I am quite good at it, just like my older brother."

"So keep up the good work. They're all under your control now. At least make them understand that you have to boil the cloth in water and then dry it before you can use it to bandage wounds... I don't know as much about these things as you do, so you'll have to decide."

"Go and do this, my doctor..."

………………

A plump mountain woman walked over. Since they were able to eat meat, many mountain people had been eating without restraint because of the terrible hunger they had suffered in the past.

Moreover, they didn't want to eat anything else, only meat and grains. They didn't even want to look at vegetables. After eating like this for a few days, many people developed health problems and had to come to this doctor to solve their ailments.

Now, the doctor stood blankly at the doorway, lost in thought. These women had all been called here to become members of the medical team, to bandage the wounded (who might even be her men) and prevent them from dying.

Women among slaves and women of the mountains also knew some methods of healing, but in most cases, whether they worked or not depended on luck. It wasn't necessarily that the method worked; perhaps the person simply survived on their own...

But this doctor was truly very capable. Whether it was a headache, fever, or sores and pains, he only needed to find some herbs, either boil them into water to drink, or dry them, grind them into powder, or apply them to the wound, and he could always see results quickly...

Furthermore, given the general's personal order, the women were all waiting for the doctor to come and teach them something, but unexpectedly, the doctor stood blankly at the door for a long time, so he pushed one of them out to ask...

The woman cautiously reached out and patted the doctor on the shoulder.

"Dr. Talina, what's wrong?"

The girl's shoulders twitched, then she slowly turned her head, immediately placing her hand on her forehead to comb her hair and cover her long, reddened ears.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things... Everyone come here, I have some things to tell you, you must write these things down..."

………………

A mountain girl with short, dark blonde hair squatted on the battlements like a monkey, gazing into the distance at the house behind the city wall... There, several large pots had been set up at some point, steaming hot.

The mountain people nearby were whispering and discussing what they were doing... In the end, they all came to the same conclusion: they must be cooking meat and rice, otherwise they wouldn't need such a big pot.

But then they saw a large group of women pouring white strips of cloth into a pot with bamboo baskets. It didn't look like anything edible, and they were stirring it vigorously in the pot with a wooden stick.

The mountain people and the slaves all looked at each other, wondering what those strips of cloth were for...

A short while later, the women retrieved the strips of cloth and erected wooden poles on the open ground nearby, tying clean ropes to them.

Then, one strip of cloth after another was draped over the fabric, arranged neatly, creating a bright white expanse that appeared from a distance...

Under the sun's rays and the breeze's caress, the strips of cloth quickly dried and lost their weight when wet, fluttering in the wind from time to time.

"Isn't that Ke Qijin? What's he doing over there...?"

A burly mountain man squinted his eyes and then suddenly said something that drew the attention of everyone around him.

The others also put their hands on their foreheads, squinted, and looked into the distance. Sure enough, they saw a sneaky little mountain man sneaking towards the white cloth from the alleyway next to the houses.

"That idiot! He probably wanted to see what those white sheets were all about, maybe he even thought they were edible..."

Colin covered his head speechlessly, knowing full well what his men were like. These guys were like reincarnated gluttons, all they thought about was where to get some good food. They probably thought that bright white cloth was something new and unfamiliar to them.